#105: New Products to Help Dry Eyes During Allergy Season
It's Springtime, and we've been talking a lot about how to take care of yourself during the spring. If you missed it, the last blog was all about Springtime allergies, how to avoid them, and a couple of tips on how to treat them.
Now that we know that we should just avoid Springtime allergies, we're going to dive into what to do about your eyes when you're suffering from allergies. I've got three tips for you today on how to treat your eyes when you're suffering from Springtime allergies and maybe even still have dry eyes to kind of compound the fact.
Tip #1) Artificial Tears and Cool Compresses
Use artificial tears and a cool compress. We've got right here, a cool compress. You're going to just have that ready in the freezer and then you can come home and lay that over the eyes. The histamines are going to cause inflammation in your eyes and cause your eyes to be swollen, but the coolness from the compress will decrease that swelling.
You can also use a preservative-free artificial tear like Retaine, Refresh, Systane, Thera Tears, and Soothe. There are lots of different choices on the market. If you need some help choosing the best one for your eyes: Download the Guide to Artificial Tears here to find your favorite.
I prefer you to use something preservative-free. These come in the little single-serving vials. Just use one or two drops in each eye to flush the pollen out of your eyes. You can refrigerate these tears. If you keep the tears cool, they'll feel super soothing and refreshing when you instill them into your eyes.
Tip #2) Use an Over-the-Counter Antihistamine Drop
If your eyes are still red, watery, and itchy, you could use something over-the-counter. If you go to the pharmacy and you're looking for an anti-histamine eye drop, I'm going to recommend two brands.
First is Pataday, this was a prescription medication that became over the counter about a year ago. In February of 2020, Alcon released Pataday eight-hour and Pataday 16-hour. Recently, in February 2021, Alcon released Pataday 24-hour. Now, these drops do have preservatives in them, but the 16-hour and 24-hour are only used once a day. Remember to instill the drop about 10 minutes before you put your contact lenses in.
The second option is also an over-the-counter antihistamine drop. There's a new drop, just hit the market, that is called Alaway Preservative-Free. Alaway has been on the market for a while as an over-the-counter antihistamine drop. But, Bausch & Lomb launched it as preservative-free. Use it twice a day.
Tip #3) Prescription Allergy Eye Drops
Prescription allergy drops come from your eye doctor. Every year, I recommend that you have an eye exam with your eye care professional. Do this every single year and make sure you get dilated too.
If you go to the eye doctor and you're complaining that your eyes are itchy, watery, and red, they may prescribe a prescription allergy drop eye drop. In which case there is Bepreve. Bepreve has been on the market for over a decade. It is very effective and gentle for your dry eyes.
The second option for prescription allergy eye drops is new. Zerviate is to be used twice a day. It works quickly and lasts for up to 12 hours.
CONCLUSION
There you have it, three different ways to treat your allergy eyes this Spring. You can go with preservative-free tears and cool compresses if your symptoms are mild. Download the Guide to Artificial Tears here to find your favorite. You can reach for an over-the-counter allergy eye drop. There are now several very effective brands on the market. Or, if your symptoms are severe, ask your eye doctor to prescribe an allergy drop for you. No matter which option you choose, I hope you will find that one of them works for you.
